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Monday, August 5, 2013

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today issued updates to its April 2012 oil and natural gas standards for
storage tanks. The agency says that the revised standards allow responsible oil and natural gas production while
ensuring air emissions are reduced as quickly as possible.

In a news release, the EPA says it will
phase in emission control deadlines, starting with higher-emitting tanks first,
and will provide the time needed to ramp up the production and installation of
controls.

The agency says it is making the changes based on information received after the
2012 standards were issued that shows more storage tanks will come online than
the agency originally estimated.

The update provides that storage tanks that emit 6 or more tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
a year must reduce emissions by 95 percent. Today’s rule establishes two
emission control deadlines:

tanks that come online after April 12, 2013 are likely
to have higher emissions and must control VOC emissions within 60 days or
by April 15, 2014, whichever is later; and

tanks that came online before April 12, 2013 are likely
to have lower emissions and must control VOC emissions by April 15, 2015.

The EPA says that the updated standards also establish an alternative emissions limit that
would allow owners/operators to remove controls from tanks if they can
demonstrate that the tanks emit less than 4 tons per year of VOC emissions
without controls. In addition, the rule streamlines compliance and monitoring
requirements for tanks that have already installed controls.

"The oil and natural gas industry uses tanks for temporary storage of crude
oil, condensate and other liquids, before those liquids are moved to a
pipeline, sold or moved for disposal. These storage tanks can be sources of
emissions of ozone-forming VOCs, along with several toxic air pollutants,
including benzene. Today’s final action does not affect the April 2012
standards for capturing natural gas from hydraulically fractured wells.

"Today’s updates respond to petitions for reconsideration of the 2012 New
Source Performance Standards for Oil and Natural Gas Production. Those
cost-effective standards rely on proven technologies and best practices to
reduce emissions of ozone-forming VOCs and air toxics, including benzene and
hexane. Exposure to ozone is linked a variety of health effects, including
aggravated asthma, reduced lung function and increased susceptibility to
respiratory infections, in addition to increased risk of premature death from
heart or lung disease. Benzene and hexane are air toxics, which can cause
cancer and other serious health effects."

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